Jarred Kelenic rejoins Mariners, Cade Marlowe optioned to Tacoma
Left foot fracture healed and a torrid 10-game rehab stint with Tacoma in the bag, Kelenic once again joins the Mariners looking to prove a point
The Mariners are back home tonight versus the Angels and a familiar face is ready to get his hacks in.
Mariners roster moves:
— Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) September 11, 2023
Jarred Kelenic, OF, reinstated from 10-day IL.
Cade Marlowe, OF, optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.
Kelenic hit the ball well and made a handful of excellent catches in right field during his 10-game rehab stint with Triple A Tacoma, batting .306 with 8 runs, 3 doubles, 1 home run, 5 RBI, and 6 walks with an .867 OPS.
Cade Marlowe didn’t really get a full run in Kelenic’s absence, but he preformed admirably in a bench/fill-in role for his first MLB stint and did the funniest thing possible the last time the Mariners played the Angels and ended their season before anyone really knew what happened.
If he does nothing else in baseball, that moment will never be forgotten. Best of luck to Cade, hopefully we see him again under good circumstances.
The Mariners oddly hesitated on calling Kelenic back up in time for the series versus the Rays, which did not go well for the Mariners, even though he was clearly ready and available.
Dipoto on Kelenic,
— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) September 7, 2023
"He appears to be raking."
"I don't suspect it is going to be too much longer. Could be any day now. It's also we're 3000 miles away and I'm not sure it is the appropriate thing to do, send him cross country. Minimally, I think you will see him next week."
One could attempt to read between the lines or do some Jerry-Pants-on-Fire lie detecting here and speculate that maybe the team was not apt to “reward” Kelenic with a rushed return to the big leagues via cross country flight given that he had sidelined himself by kicking a full plastic cooler out of frustration. After that and given his history to this point of angry outbursts, maybe he is not the team’s favorite son at the moment and maybe they feared throwing off the team’s chemistry on an already frustrating road trip. This is pure speculation on my part.
Would JK have been a real difference maker versus the Rays? We’ll never know! But, those were all fairly close, winnable games and he seems primed to do some slugging. We’ll find out this week how big the chip on Jarred’s shoulder has gotten and if he’s ready to prove he belongs for good.